Argentina to continue the trophy streak, Colombia would like to repeat the feat of 2001.
The Copa America final will be played in Miami. The defending champion Argentina will face current world champion Colombia, aiming to repeat their 2001 success.
The Argentines, led by Lionel Messi, want to continue their trophy streak and win the trophy for the third consecutive major competition.
Three years ago, the Gauchos won the American Championship, equaling the Uruguayan team’s 15 titles.
Now Lionel Scaloni’s team can reach a record number of titles and become the undisputed ruler of America, but the road to that endeavour will be anything but easy.
James Rodríguez and his friends amazed football fans at the championship in the USA, and the former ace of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich recalled his best days.
Road to the final
Nestor Lorenzo’s team finished ahead of Brazil, Costa Rica, and Paraguay in the group stage with seven points.
The semi-finals brought a clash with Uruguay, which saw a merciless fight between the two teams, and in which the Colombians played with a player less for the entire second half, due to the exclusion of Daniel Munoz in the stoppage time of the first part of the game. However, Columbia preserved the advantage brought to them by Jefferson Lerma in the 39th minute and reached their first final after 23 years.
Argentina excelled in the group stage, defeating Canada (2:0), Chile (1:0), and Peru (2:0) without conceding a goal.
In the quarter-finals, they had a dramatic game with Ecuador. Kevin Rodríguez scored a goal in the 91st minute to equalize (1:1), while Enner Valencia missed a penalty kick in the 62nd minute. Penalties didn’t work for the Ecuadorians that day, so Lionel Scaloni’s selection advanced to the semi-finals after a better penalty shootout.
They faced the Canadians again, resulting in a rematch with the same outcome (2:0). Will Argentina have a happy ending this time or will Colombia surprise the football world?
